Advantage Djokovic

Miles Maclagan says Novak Djokovic is looking good to win the race to end 2012 as world number one.

Last Updated: 07/10/12 5:13pm

Djokovic: key victory in Beijing

Miles Maclagan believes the advantage now lies with Novak Djokovic in the race to end the year as world number one.

The Serb is looking to reclaim the top spot in the world rankings from Roger Federer and is in good shape after a straight sets victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the final of the China Open.

The victory means Djokovic has defended the points he earned by winning the same competition last year and Maclagan feels he will focus on climbing the rankings after reacting well to the disappointment of losing the US Open Final to Andy Murray.

"Every point they get in the bag is an advantage," he told Sky Sports.

"These guys are pretty sure of themselves, so I don't think they're watching the others and getting worried about what they're doing.

"The focus will be on the race now, but Djokovic is fairly far ahead. It's hard because it's so long ago that he made the bulk of his points at the Australian Open, Indian Wells and Miami.

"He was pretty solid and here we were wondering how Djokovic is feeling about things.

"He's come off the back of a final of the US Open and he's cruised through a win in an ATP 500 against a world number seven."

Djokovic maintained his fine record in Beijing and rarely looked in trouble as he recorded a 7-6 6-2 success over Tosnga.

Maclagan said the performance from the Frenchman was typically inconsistent throughout the match and suggested his heavy schedule may have contributed to the defeat.

"Tsonga was up and down," he said.

"There was brilliance and big misses, as summed up in the last point with the big smash over the baseline.

"I think he ran out of gas. It's a lot of travelling and a lot of time zones."